On Air Apology
by Rome OMD
Summary: After an emotional fight with Eagle, Hikaru calls a nighttime radio program to dedicate a song to him in hopes that he will hear her apology over the air waves. But as she begins telling her story to the show’s host, she learns more than expected…


Summary: After an emotional fight with Eagle, Hikaru calls a nighttime radio program to dedicate a song to him in hopes that he will hear her apology over the air waves. But as she begins telling her story to the show's host, she learns more than expected…

Part(s): One-shot

Rating: G

Author: Rome OMD

Date of Completion: 6/13/06

Date of Publication: 7/1/06

Note(s): There simply are not enough stories dedicated to Eagle/Hikaru, which is so lugubrious! Here's my small contribution. Be prepared for OOC, a bit of AU, and cheesy WAFF-iness. This is based on the anime story line and takes place after the second season. (PS—The following tons of pointless fluff may actually stem from my severe addiction to the live-action version of _Hana Yori Dango_.) Be on the look-out for there's a small reference to another anime in the beginning.

Disclaimer: Rome OMD does not own _Magic Knight Rayearth _or the_ RK OVA _or_ The_ _Delilah Show _or Sting's "Fields of Gold"; their respective owners do. Their characters and story line are used for non-profit uses without permission in the following story.

On-Air Apology

As Hikaru walked towards the nearby Meiguai Café, she sat on a bench to quickly tie the laces of her shoe before continuing. When she looked at her watch, she inwardly yelped in worry before jogging then running towards her destination, in fear of arriving late. _Why, why didn't my alarm clock work? No, no, Hikaru, calm down… internal locus of control… internal locus of control…_

The bells that were attached to the door promptly rang when Hikaru entered the café. The store's owner, also the redhead's boss, immediately flashed a smile in her direction. "Hi, Hikaru!"

"Tomoe, hi, how are you? Have you seen Eagle yet? We're supposed to meet here at eleven."

Tomoe responded with sarcastic perturbation. "What? Not dining here like you should be doing?" Hikaru responded with a rather sheepish look. "Fine, oh, fine, you're too cute to stay mad at anyway. But no, I haven't seen him. I'm curious; how long has Eagle been in Japan? Just a few years, right?"

Hikaru slightly flinched, caught off-guard. She had almost forgotten that he was not even of Earth, but from Autozam, a planet in the same alternate dimension as that of Cephiro. After the defeat of Debonair, it turned out that Eagle had survived out of sheer willpower to simply be with her. Cephiro was, after all, a land of will, and this fact practically deemed everything possible. At this, Hikaru madly blushed. "A couple years, I guess."

Another redhead popped out from the kitchen, carrying a crate of what looked like many heavy things. "Hikaru, how are you?" he asked.

"Wonderful, Kenshin. You look like you need help, here, let me—"

Tomoe intervened. "Really, Hikaru, this is your day off and your day to spend with Eagle. It's five minutes to eleven. Have some iced coffee while you wait for your boyfriend to appear." Hikaru promptly blushed as she sat herself down. "Kenshin can handle it by himself, right?" she called over her shoulder.

"Of course," he remarked, rolling his eyes as he disappeared back into the kitchen. Hikaru saw a look of pure warmth radiate on Tomoe's face before turning her full attention to the iced coffee that sat on the table before her. She looked at her watch again, unintentionally growing uneasy with each passing second. Quickly shaking away her doubts and qualms, she sipped another cubic centimeter of her drink.

A few minutes later, she felt someone peck her on the cheek. Widening her eyes at this unhesitant public show of affection, Hikaru instantaneously turned to find a gorgeous pair of golden eyes staring at her.

"You're late, Eagle!"

"No, I'm not." He motioned towards the clock on the opposite wall. "You just like to set your clock forward a couple of minutes, remember?"

"Maybe so, but…" Giving up, the redhead playfully punched him on the arm while saying, "You're impossible!"

"Come on, I bet you're hungry. Let's have lunch," Eagle suggested as he led her out of the café.

---

"And that will be all, thank you," Eagle said as he handed the two menus to the waitress who thereafter disappeared. As the couple sat in silence, Hikaru uneasily sipped her drink, trying to avoid meeting gazes with the man in front of her. She felt herself looking everywhere in the restaurant but straight at him even though she knew that he was directly looking at her, a dreamy smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

Finally exhausted of her own efforts, the redhead unintentionally slipped a laugh before staring back at him and demanding, "What?"

"How funny that it's been a couple years since we first met, and yet, you still can't even look at me without laughing. Am I really that funny-looking?"

Hikaru laughed again; she felt the previous nervousness drip away considerably. "No, you're the best-looking man on the face of this planet. Not sure about Cephiro, though, because Lantis is quite handsome as well." Her smile widened at Eagle's playful pout. "Have you heard from him recently? I haven't talked with him for a while, although I know should."

"I believe that he's about to become a father—at least, this was the case the last time I checked."

"Oh, really? How exciting!"

"It is indeed." Eagle then saw something abruptly sparkle in Hikaru's crimson eyes, and soon found himself admiring their unique beauty. "Remember the first time we met? I guess that's proof enough that love doesn't come at first sight."

"Well, you did share Geo's sweets with me…" Hikaru trailed off, staring into the distance with fond smile. When she saw the rolls on the table, she quickly asked, "How long have these been here?"

"For quite a while. Actually, while you were trying to avoid my gaze, I had delighted myself with one of these fluffy rolls when they were warm so as to avoid—"

"Avoid what?" The redhead asked before her stomach loudly growled.

"—a stomach's hungry cry for help."

"Leave me alone. You're paying, right? I mean, the amount of teasing I have to endure whenever I'm with you should amount up to free meals that you pay for, right?"

"If it shows you my generosity and chivalry as a gentleman, then so shall it be."

"You are truly kind, Eagle. You know, I'm very happy to have known such a good person like you for so long. I feel so blessed." Hikaru paused, appearing to be pondering over her words. She held onto his hands with both her own and looked up to stare into the pools of gold that were his eyes. "But, other than the person you've been since the first day I've met you, I don't know much else about you. It's kind of funny now that I think about it. I've told you everything about me, but I hardly know anything about you. Don't you think that after all these years, maybe we should know something deeper of one another?"

Eagle uneasily shifted in his seat, leaning against the back of his chair. "Perhaps."

"No, not perhaps; we should, Eagle."

He sighed, clearly uncomfortable and apprehensive of the conversation about to come. He had tried to avoid this topic for a while, but as he stared at Hikaru in front of him, he knew that talking about it was inevitable.

"I don't want to make you uneasy about this at all, but I… I just wish that you would just tell me a bit about yourself. I mean, I hardly know anything about you that happened before our first meeting in Cephiro. I'm sure there are stories to tell. Eagle?"

"What do you want me to say? Should I tell you every detail of every minute of my life from the time of my birth?"

"No, no… of course not," Hikaru said as she forced an awkward laugh, the situation as precarious as a cliff's edge.

"There are just some things about me that you shouldn't know, that I know you won't want to know."

Hikaru felt the person sitting across from her become distantly more alien. "How do you know? Eagle, I…" She deeply exhaled and compassionately looked into his eyes. "I… love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you, but how can I when you won't even trust in me to know something like your background?"

"You don't need to know my past." Eagle's brows were furrowed, showing great frustration. "Can we just drop the subject? You really don't need to know."

"No, I do." Hikaru felt her eyes began tearing up and inwardly gasped when she felt the first tear trail down her cheek. She turned away, hoping that Eagle did not see it, but the rivulets of tears continued to profusely trail down her cheeks. "How can I be with you… I once wished for the rest of my life, hopefully, but I don't know anymore… but I can't if you're still hiding things from me. It breaks my heart. I'm not sure if you even feel the way about me the way I you anymore."

His golden gaze was turned toward the side, either at the neighboring table or the window or the tiled floor, but whatever it was, it certainly was not directed at Hikaru as she had wished. As she took a tissue out to dry her eyes, she whispered, "Eagle… bye." She roughly stood up and quickly exited the doors, the bells of the door ringing in gentle tintinnabulation to mark her departure.

Eagle simply stared at the door when it closed, his heart crushing itself when he realized that the seat in front of him was empty.

---

The tears flowing from her crimson eyes continued drenching the pillow as Hikaru lay her tired head on it, hoping that its fluffy comfort would mollify the rampant distress inside of her. Tiredly glancing at the clock, she found that about six hours had passed since her conversation with Eagle. She focused her attention on the phone on the nightstand table beside her, as if willing it to ring, willing for a friendly voice to come and comfort her in her sadness. _Why did I bring that up? He clearly didn't want to talk about it… Why can't I be more tactful? But… Eagle, why can't you just tell me? What is there to hide?_

Ring! Ring! Ring!

Hikaru tiredly glanced at the phone. Now that it had rung, she felt all energy to answer drain away. "Hello?" she asked upon picking up the dial.

"Hikaru? What's wrong? You sound horrible!" A slightly shrill but concerned voice shouted into the redhead's ear.

"Hi, Umi. Everything's all okay, so don't worry about me." Hikaru tried clearing her throat, but the effort apparently did not wile her friend of her current state.

"Tell me who it is, and I'll be right over to kick their—"

"Then you'll have to kick me."

"Hikaru?"

"I don't know why I asked. Why the heck did I ask him? I just wanted to know a little bit about Eagle's past… but he refused, just as I had expected him to, but I kept pushing him… and he clearly looked uncomfortable, even annoyed by the time I cried… I completely wasted his time; he shouldn't have to put up with me—I mean, I'm such a nuisance at times. All I wished was just to maybe—"

"Slow down, there, Hikaru. Let me try to get this straight. So, all you wanted to know was a little of Eagle's past, but he refused to tell you anything."

"Sort of."

"This is the guy you love and want to spend the rest of your life with, and yet, he hasn't told you anything of his past?"

"Yes."

"Jerk."

"I probably shouldn't have asked him. I just kind of... no, I knew it was going to be a touchy topic, but it's been so many years, but I still kept asking… It's my fault."

"Don't blame yourself. Eagle is a jerk. All men are. Heck, even Ascot's one. Don't forget, Eagle even tried to kill you… us… once. Oh, man, now that I think about it, even Ascot tried to, too…"

"Eagle is kind, and I basically invaded his privacy by pushing him to share with me some of his private memories. If he doesn't want to tell me, he shouldn't have to. What was I thinking?"

"Listen, Hikaru. This is your problem: You blame yourself for things that aren't your fault whatsoever. You wanted to know more about him, which is clearly reasonable. I mean, how many years has it been? Quite a few, right? So, you have a right to find out more about him. If he's still hiding things from you after all this time, you know that there's something fishy. Both of you owe it to each other to be honest. There's nothing to hide, well, there shouldn't be anything to hide anyway."

"I love him so much… but the pain that was in his eyes. They were so sad."

"Hey, Hikaru, don't kill yourself over this. He may be a jerk, but Eagle does love you. I know it. But he shouldn't have refused you what you have the right to know. So cheer up, everything will work out in the end."

"I hope so, Umi. Now, all I want to do is just apologize. But I'm afraid that he'll be too angry to listen to me or something."

Umi slightly paused on her end of the line. "Hey, I've got a brilliant idea."

"I don't think I like the sound of your voice, Umi."

"Trust me, Hikaru. I've seen this in a bunch of movies—it never fails."

---

The clock on Hikaru's nightstand read ten minutes to eight o'clock. She had sat on her bed, hands clutching the cordless phone, while listening to the nightly _Delilah_ radio program for the past fifty minutes. Evening had steadily turned into night, and the only source of light in her room came from the dim lamp standing on the opposite side of her bedroom. She nervously stared at the phone and tried to will herself to dial the number but simply could not from a lack of confidence.

"_Okay, Hikaru, this is what you've got to do. Broadcast your apology over the airwaves. Make it public."_

_Hikaru's mouth felt empty of words._

"_It never fails, because there's no worst-case scenario. First, you're unwilling to confront Eagle, right? If he happens to be surfing through radio stations, there's that chance—"_

"_That's as small as a mustard seed."_

"—_that he'll stumble upon your public declaration. You won't have to meet him face-to-face. And second, c'mon, Hikaru, this is just so romantic. I mean, a declaration of love—"_

"_It's an apology, Umi."_

"—_over the airwaves so that everyone can hear! It makes my heart melt."_

"_It'll never work."_

"_You can do it, Hikaru. Come on, nothing bad will come out of it. Okay, the worst thing that could happen would be that Eagle doesn't hear it. So, what?"_

"_But I want him to hear it."_

"_Then do it. Plus, I hear the lady's really nice."_

The redhead marveled at her friend's straightforwardness for a moment before finally dialing in the number. She took a deep breath but nearly choked when she heard someone actually answer on the opposite side of the line.

"Good evening. Welcome to _The Delilah Show_, dear. Who's calling?"

Hikaru paused. "Hi, it's Hikaru."

"Hello, Hikaru. Is there anything I can help you with? Anything you'd like to share?"

The redhead tried to sort her turbulent emotions into articulate words. "Today, I had a fight with someone really dear to me. And I just really want to apologize to him, but I can't really face him right now so I just hope that he's listening. I want to tell him how much I love him and want to be with him and how sorry I am."

"A fight? I've had my share in the past, dear, and trust me, they weren't pretty. Actually, I still have my share of feuds with my husband, Brian, and they still aren't pretty, but we manage to come to some sort of resolution in due time so don't get discouraged. As long as your hearts are honest and both of you truly love one another, everything will fix itself. It's difficult, I won't deny it. But, as some say, one of the most courageous things any human being can do is to ask for forgiveness."

"I just hope that he hears… and that he's willing to forgive me."

"You've done your part, my dear, and now, it's up to him. Nothing stands in the way of true love. If it is God's will that you two be together, then it will happen. However, there is something that I've learned over the years and it is that sometimes the best apologies occur face-to-face."

"Thanks, Delilah."

"You're very welcome. Is there a song that you would like me to play to show him the depth of your love?"

Hikaru closed her eyes and mentally imagined the sad yet beautiful golden eyes that enraptured her each time she saw or remembered them. "Yes. Would you mind playing 'Fields of Gold'?"

"Of course I don't mind. Good luck, Hikaru."

"Thanks."

Hikaru fell backwards against her bed as the soft and gentle melody of "Fields of Gold" euphoniously filled the room. She shut her eyes, attempting to calm the pounding she had heard inside her head during the entire phone call. The music began to soothe her, much to her appreciation. The music continued to linger in her ears even after it ended with its final note. As much satisfaction as she possessed after having apologized over the airwaves, she began pondering Delilah's last piece of advice. _Face-to-face…_

She quickly reached for her coat and rushed towards her door. However, she was saved the journey to Eagle's apartment when she stepped outside on the sidewalk in front of her apartment building. In the distance, she saw a tall figure closing the distance that separated the two of them. Hikaru recognized the sandy-white hair as well as the pair of distinct golden eyes. But, having identified him glued her to the spot on the paved sidewalk on which she stood.

Eagle stopped walking just a few steps in front of her. The light of the nearest lamppost just barely illuminated his figure. They stood together, facing each other in the silence of the young night. Hikaru decided to first break the quietude between them.

"I just... I don't know what to say. Honestly, I want to say that it's your fault, but it's also my fault, because I kept pushing the topic, and—" But then, an unceremonious hug from the other's part interrupted her.

"Hikaru, I heard. Thank you so much. You've already said enough. Although, I think I should've been the one to apologize. I've hidden something from you that I should've never hidden from you. I think I was afraid that once you found out of my past that you would… reject me, but you're right; you should know, you need to know. I'm deeply sorry, Hikaru." He buried his head within her wavy carmine tresses. "I won't let this come between us."

"Eagle, I…" Hikaru did not know how to respond, but Eagle quickly silenced her with a brusque kiss on the lips. She melted against him, fully leaning into his embrace for support. When they finally parted, a sheet of joyful tears threatening to fall covered Hikaru's eyes. Eagle gently cupped Hikaru's cheeks as the latter held onto his hands with her own.

"Lunch tomorrow?" he asked.

Hikaru let out a soft giggle. "Sure." She embraced his tall figure once more before whispering, "I love you, Eagle. And I really meant it when I said I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

"And I you. Hikaru, you're wetting my shirt with all your tears."

She jokingly punched him in the arm. "Dinner too. And you're paying tomorrow."

End

Author's Note(s): Hey, we need some pointless, v. bad sappiness somewhere, and it might as well come from me. The idea was simply meandering in mind for too long a while, so I decided to put it on paper. Hmm… what is Eagle's dark past? At the moment, frankly, I don't really know… So, how was it? Mind leaving a comment or two? It would be greatly appreciated! Thanks for reading!


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